


Hold my hand until its over?

by bookl0ver



Series: Prompt Fills [9]
Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Angst, Crying, Don't copy to another site, Fear, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Roller Coasters, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:13:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25900396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookl0ver/pseuds/bookl0ver
Summary: Prompt fill for Kitzombie - Hold my hand until its over?
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Series: Prompt Fills [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880095
Comments: 10
Kudos: 41





	Hold my hand until its over?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [icantdowithoutyou (asofterkit)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/asofterkit/gifts).



> Thanks for clicking 
> 
> Warnings: Fair grounds/Rides, panic attacks, crying, mentions of throwing up. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“Hold my hand until it’s over?” 

The words escaped Ben before he could process them and he flushed deeply, glaring down at the death trap he’d been strapped in to. 

Callum raised his eyebrows and twisted in his seat to face Ben better. “You don’t like these?” He asked softly, sounding confused. When he’d brought this up to Ben his boyfriend had been nothing but enthusiastic. 

Ben shook his head and whimpered, not bothering to keep up his hard man act. He was fucking terrified, the meagre breakfast he’d forced down this morning threatening to come right back up. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Callum reached over awkwardly, the shoulder restraint restricting his movements somewhat. “Ben, I’d never have suggested we -" 

“That’s why!” Ben snapped, finally looking at Callum and feeling guilty at his sweet, open earnest face. “Because – Because you like this, this kind of thing and we always do what I want and I just wanted to do something for you, and it’s only a ride, only a -" 

Callum sighed, taking Ben’s hand and rubbing his thumb over it. “We could get off, the bloke is only over there,” He suggested, suddenly not in the mood for the ride, the ride he’d wanted to go on all day. He’d babbled about it excitedly, pointing it out the second they’d arrived, eager to go on. Ben had been steadily delaying him with the smaller rides, games and food. Now that, and his silence as they queued made sense. 

Before Ben could respond the floor beneath them began to lower, leaving their legs dangling as the voice of the man in the box spoke. 

**Hold tight riders, it’s time to endure the wrath of the beast**

All colour drained from Ben’s face as the ride began to move, slowly at first. 

“Hold on to my hand Ben, it’s okay. Just – just shut your eyes and hold on to me okay? It’ll be alright.” Callum felt awful, the fear on Ben’s face clear as the ride sped up, beginning to twist and flip them around. Amidst the screams of joy and exhilaration from the other riders the silence from Ben was noticeable. 

The g-force of the ride whipping around meant Callum couldn’t look at Ben anymore, being forced back into his seat and even as his stomach flipped with the thrill of being thrown around he couldn’t ignore the guilt that he’d inadvertently dragged Ben onto something that he was so scared of. 

Keeping his eyes closed didn’t help, Ben found. The ride moved so aggressively, flipping forwards and backwards, in circles and throwing the occupants upside down all within the space of a few seconds and then repeating the motion. His breakfast sat at the base of his throat and he swallowed thickly, nails digging into Callum’s hand and the shoulder restraint as he tried to force himself to breathe, determined that despite his obvious fear he was not going to throw up. The excited screams of the other riders baffled him, and he tried to focus on them, imagining what kind of nutters could possibly find this fun. 

Finally, mercifully, the ride slowed to a stop, returning its riders back to vertical as the floor rose, Callum able to touch the floor again. Ben still couldn’t. He took in a shaky breath, needing to get off of the seat and sat down somewhere private so he could unleash the panic and terror. As soon as the restraints lifted he was scrambling out of the seat, landing on shaky legs and nearly falling. Big hands caught him, Callum having released himself and shot up, wrapping his boyfriend close to him. 

“Come on Ben, let’s get you back to the car yeah?” Callum said softly as he shepherded Ben away from the crowds, knowing that if he allowed Ben to cry like he was so clearly going to in front of all these people Ben would never forgive him. 

Ben managed to stumble back out of the fairground to their car, his maroon hoodie pulled over his face and hand gripping Callum’s tightly. Callum opened the door for him and gently sat him down. 

“It’s alright Ben,” Callum said, looking around them carefully. “There’s no one else around. Just me, let it out.” 

Reassured that nobody other than Callum would see this weakness he let the sobs of fear spill out, tear marks quickly sliding along his cheeks. Callum remained in front of him, lowering onto his knees on the grass of the carpark and rubbing Ben’s hands and thighs soothingly. He didn’t try and shush his boyfriend, just waited for him to get it all out of his system. 

Breath hitching, face red, snotty and tear stained, Ben finally felt like he could breathe again and he blinked his eyes open to find Callum watching him, concerned and guilty. 

“I’m so sorry Ben,” Callum said mournfully, feeling awful that he’d ever suggested this. It was supposed to be fun, go on a few rides, try a couple of the games and eat more food than was healthy. If he’d known, if Ben had just said something he would have- 

“It’s not your fault, Callum,” Ben interrupted his pondering, sniffing. His voice was rough and crackly from crying and he blushed as Callum fumbled in his pocket for a pack of tissues, rising on his knees to mop at his face. He wanted to smack him away, remind him that he wasn’t a baby but he didn’t have the energy for it. “Just, can we go home please?” 

Instantly Callum responded in the affirmative, guiding Ben’s legs round so he was properly seated before pushing the car door shut and hurrying to the driver’s side. 

Silence remained thick in the car as they drove, both men lost in thought, Callum’s hands on the steering wheel and gear stick mere autopilot. When they came to a stop at a traffic light he chanced a glance at Ben, who was looking back at him softly. 

A hand landed on Callum’s thigh and he grasped it gratefully, thankful for the sign that Ben wasn’t angry with him – or not so angry that he would ignore him at any rate. Reluctantly he had to let go to drive when the light changed, but as soon as it was safe he grabbed Ben’s hand again, fingers squeezing wordless messages. 

When they got home they’d have to talk about this, Ben hiding things from him again, no matter how small they may be, but for now this was enough. Hands entwined, gripping on tightly, refusing to let go.

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone curious, the ride they're on is this one: https://youtu.be/6m5dE3JJrnM
> 
> Thanks for reading. 
> 
> Please feel free to let me know what you thought, comments and kudos are always welcome. 
> 
> Have a great day!


End file.
